Regional Impacts

Sacramento Valley Region

This study defines the Sacramento Valley region as all of the Central Valley counties north of San Joaquin Valley and all of the mountain counties of northeastern California. There are two CSU campuses in this region: CSU Chico and CSU Sacramento.

Together these two CSU campuses have a direct impact of more than $1.9 billion on the Sacramento Valley’s economy, including:

$532 million in operational expenditures;

$102 million in capital expenditures;

$169 million in auxiliary expenditures;

$216 million in off-campus spending by students who moved to the region to attend the CSU.

This direct impact of the CSU campuses in the Sacramento Valley creates a total spending impact of $1.4 billion, and sustains nearly 15,000 jobs in the region. The total tax impact of the two campuses is $88 billion annually. Moreover, $5 billion of the earnings by alumni of the CSU campuses in this region can be attributed to their CSU degrees.

In addition to the regional impact CSU Chico and CSU Sacramento have on the Sacramento region, there are statewide impacts associated with leakages from spending beyond the immediate region. Statewide, Sacramento Valley campuses create a total spending impact of $1.7 billion, support nearly 15,000 jobs and generate nearly $113 million in tax revenue for state and local governments. Moreover, when the enhanced earning power of Sacramento Valley CSU alumni is considered, the campuses produce a combined total direct annual impact of $6 billion for the state economy, which creates a total spending impact of $8 billion. This level of economic activity supports nearly 45,500 jobs annually in the state and generates more than $573 million in annual tax revenue for the state and local governments.

In 2008-09, state appropriations totaled roughly $290 million to CSU Chico and CSU Sacramento, and for every dollar invested, $4.74 in regional and $6.02 in statewide spending is generated. When the impact of the enhanced earnings of CSU Chico and CSU Sacramento graduates is included, the ratio rises to nearly $28 in total spending impact for every dollar the state invests.